The Wanderer - 260 (Patreon)

Chapter 260 – Fork In The Road

[2009 – October – Friday]

Taking Laura back to the Hellion Mansion with an instantaneous jump through the Darkforce Dimension, we both appeared directly in the bathroom of Jean's and my place.

Gently, I helped her strip off her ripped leather jacket and combat boots while throwing off my tattered and blood-soaked mantle and leather shoes before simply grabbing her hand and pulling her into the shower.

Laura wasn't resisting the slightest bit as she seemed rather fragile at the moment, not hesitating at all to softly dive back into my embrace again once I had turned on the faucet for hot water.

The hot water running down our bodies and into the drain was instantly dyed red from all the blood that was still clinging to our forms, though in my case none of it was from me.

The mere sight of it made me recall what I had just done as I felt the incessant hunger for life reverberating deep within my soul, the fused nexus core of the Darkforce Dimension urging me to give in to my darker instincts again and again.

I didn't regret slaughtering those men but now that it was over, it took some effort to suppress the dark hunger for life and light that had been part of me since my ascension.

What I had done just now felt distinctly different than when I had attacked the Facility as those actions of mine had felt far more impersonal than ripping someone apart with my bare hands.

The feeling of flesh tearing and bones breaking while warm blood splashed on my face and drenched my hands wasn't something one could just forget, especially not for me since I would never accept being in denial about my own actions and nature.

So while I managed to push back malevolent parts of myself without much struggle due to my considerable willpower, that didn't mean that I was blind in any sense about how 'inhuman' my actions had been. Especially since wanting to maintain my humanity was important to me and every step away from it made me feel somewhat at a loss as I knew that there were consequences for such even if I couldn't fully grasp them.

I also knew that these feelings would pass eventually after some time and reflection, which would allow my thoughts to regain their clarity, but at the moment I still felt a bit 'unsettled'.

I pushed those thoughts aside though and tried to focus on Laura's condition, sensing how vulnerable she was at the moment.

Strangely enough, feeling her in my embrace, knowing that she sought my closeness even after the savagery that I had committed caused warmth and tenderness to bloom in my heart while I embraced her even tighter.

Still wearing a black button-down shirt and a pair of black slacks, while she wore a tight dark green shirt with a sports bra beneath and some skin-tight grey jeans, I couldn't help but slip my right hand under her shirt to gently caress her back while my left one combed through her wet hair.

Laura wasn't idle either as she leaned into me fully while her hands brushed over my shoulder to my neck before eventually, she buried her fingers in my dark locks, looking up at me with deep trust and tenderness.

I couldn't help but place my forehead against hers and close my eyes to just bask in the ever-growing intimacy between us. I couldn't express it with words but there was this incredible sense of belonging that seemed to stir the air when she was close, especially in this moment.

Feeling truly connected to someone, truly accepted and loved, there was hardly anything that could be compared to that feeling in my mind. It was something that I had never experienced in my last life and I was utterly willing to rip my own heart out to make it last.

In this life, besides Jean, only Emma and Laura had ever invoked this sensation in me.

And while I felt at peace with Jean because she was like my inner light that seemed to be able to save me even from my own darkness, Laura's presence made me feel more at peace with my inner demons.

With Emma, on the other hand, it was different since the affection we had for each other, while immense and intimate, was not of a romantic nature.

Opening my eyes again, I saw Laura staring up at me with innocent but incredibly loving eyes as if she could not even imagine wanting to be anywhere else at this moment. Warm water ran down my cheeks only to fall onto hers while her full lips seemed to just beg to be kissed.

Less than two inches separated our lips from connecting in a lover's fashion, and while I wanted to kiss her as much as she wanted to be kissed by me, I managed to forcefully contain this desire as I withdrew a bit and looked beyond the glass shower.

My eyes fell on Jean, who stood in the doorway to the bathroom, wearing nothing but a shirt of mine, her beautiful flaming locks cascading down her shoulders. I had sensed her approach, my heart fiercely longing for her presence after tonight's events.

Her verdant eyes were filled with complex emotions as her gaze flickered from me to Laura and to the bloodied jackets on the floor, most of it being worry and a certain sense of insecurity.

Laura had partly turned around while still in my embrace and likewise looked at Jean while pressing herself even deeper into my embrace, a sign of her anxiousness and dependence as she clung to me for support in her seemingly vulnerable state in this uncertain situation.

I could feel it, like a prick in the back of my mind, a hidden instinct whose purpose was to guide me through twists of fate that I could not hope to understand with my current strength, the three of us had reached a fork in the road that would change everything depending on which path we all decided to take.

And even though I was uncertain and feared the possible consequences of my own decision, I still wrapped my arm around Laura's slim midsection and held her close as I opened my mind to Jean.

…

Feeling Elijah's arm wrap itself around her and his hard chest press against her back, Laura's fluttering heart seemed to have found a sanctuary as her anxiousness diminished greatly.

And yet, it didn't stop her from looking at Jean with hopeful and yearning eyes as she longed for the redhead's gentle warmth as much as she wanted to be surrounded by Elijah's raw affection.

Laura knew that it wasn't fair of her to demand so much from both of them, to be that selfish in her wishes to be with them. But she couldn't help it.

There was no other place on this planet where she felt at home, where she felt that safe, where she felt as if she belonged.

…

For most of her life, Jean had seen her telepathic abilities as a curse as they had shown her things that she had never wanted to know, and only since a few months ago had this changed when Elijah had come into her life and shown her the beauty of being able to connect with someone so deeply that it felt as if they had truly become one.

So, as she looked at him and Laura standing together and embracing in the shower while being clad in what could only be described as rags at this point, his bloodied mantle, her jacket, and their shoes discarded on the floor, she once again felt how fortunate she was to be a telepath.

Others might have been hurt by such a sight, devastated even, but Jean felt what they felt, saw what they saw, and so she knew that while they undoubtedly and irrevocably loved each other, they loved her too with at least equal intensity.

She could feel Elijah's inability to push away Laura, his desire to protect her, to have her with him, and to be with her. It was almost as great as the anguish that he felt at the mere thought of hurting her in any way.

Jean felt his heart threatening to crack as he looked at her with his hauntingly beautiful shadowed eyes while still embracing Laura and giving the wild-hearted beauty what she so desperately wanted – a place to belong.

The dark-haired girl seemed exceedingly fragile at the moment, her mind open and vulnerable as she rested in Elijah's embrace while looking at her with gentle longing, yearning for her affection and acceptance.

Jean understood, just by sensing their emotions and glimpsing into their minds, that the two of them had no intention to be separated from her in any way but they also could not bear to part with each other, not without breaking their own hearts.

She realized to her own astonishment that while they wanted to be together, they couldn't do it without her. She was the missing link between them. She was the one who held the key to what was going to happen next.

With little hesitation, Jean moved towards the shower and stepped into it, and while the shirt she was wearing got soaked in water along with her red looks, she reached out to gently brush back a few strands of Laura's dark hair before leaning forward and placing a tender kiss on the girl's soft lips.

Jean had already accepted Laura the moment the girl had fallen in love with her, but it was only at this moment that she realized without a shadow of a doubt that she had also long fallen for the dark-haired beauty.

Her heart was racing as her lips connected with Laura's for the first time, the moment before seemingly lasting forever while her nerve endings tingled with nervous anticipation.

And then it happened.

Warm pillowy lips pressed against hers as Jean had her first kiss with a girl but more than that, with someone that she had such tender feelings for. Her eyes fluttered close and she forgot everything that was on her mind at that moment as if struck by lightning.

Her heart jumped in joy while sensual desire caused heat to rush through her veins in waves, her whole body seemingly incredibly sensitive while she kissed the girl.

Her right hand was still cupping Laura's cheek and Jean couldn't help but step closer and place her other hand on the gorgeous brunette's hip, the feeling of her own sensitive chest pressing against Laura's almost making her shudder.

Tentatively, the dark-haired beauty grabbed her hips and held her close too.

Jean wasn't sure which of them parted their lips first but she would never forget the first shy caress of Laura's tongue or her sweet taste. It was like ambrosia and she instinctively knew that she would never get enough of it.

The fact that this was somewhat of a 'taboo' situation just added this naughty touch while making her feel a wonderfully tingling sensation with every delicate touch.

Withdrawing a bit while Laura blushed fiercely, her eyes aglow with wild affection as incessant joy and passion radiated from within her, Jean felt a bit out of breath and couldn't help but react shyly, her cheeks reddening quickly before she turned her gaze upward a bit and locking eyes with her love.

And the next moment she was struck breathless as she felt Elijah's deep love and desire echoing within her mind as condensed traces of ambient psionic energy swirled around him in response to his intense emotions.